Our office is open to the public! We are here to help you Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Staff may not be in the office at all times due to the outdoor nature of our work. Consider calling our office before your visit at 763-689-3271. See the Contact Us page for other ways to contact staff members.
Isanti County and Isanti Soil and Water Conservation District work in partnership to complete actions that will prevent and mitigate the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) and provide education and outreach to the public. We have published a report of the actions taken in 2022.
If Minnesota wants to continue to help landowners interested in voluntary conservation projects, it needs to find an adequate and permanent funding solution for SWCDs. Our state legislators will consider a proposed solution – SWCD Aid – which would be a standing, statutory appropriation to SWCDs from the Department of Revenue. This permanent funding source would allow us to put more projects in the ground and provide a reliable source of funding for staff. If you’d like to get involved to make sure that Isanti SWCD and SWCDs across the state have adequate and permanent funding, you can contact our local elected officials!
We have made a short storyboard that will take you through the progress made on Green Lake.
All of the footage was shot on the Oxford Township lakes!
Kevin Schlipp and his wife have been conservation minded for years. Therefore, when they started learning about cover crops in farmer magazines and from long time practicer Dave Medvecky (part of the Isanti SWCD board), they decided to try them. Kevin has been using cover crops for two years now, and joined the Isanti SWCD Cover Crop Program last year.
Kevin uses a cover crop mix of buckwheat, crimson clover, radish, winter peas, and some soybeans. He chose his mix using the advice of Dave and the NRCS and SWCD staff. When the buckwheat is in bloom the farm is a rolling field of flowers that attracts many bees. However, Kevin’s favorite benefit of the cover crops are not the bumbling bees on his property. Instead, he has noticed “very few weeds breaking out and coming through once the cover crop has been established.” This saves him time, money and chemicals. The weed protection of cover crops encourages Kevin to keep using them, as he says, “If I can get by with using less chemicals that is a motivating factor for me.” When Kevin was asked why cover crops and conservation was important to him, he responded immediately: “Well, conservation is for all of us.” Cover crops improve soil health and water quality which benefits both the farmer and the environment.Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
| ||
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
| |
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
Date :
Wednesday, 17 May 2023
|
18
|
19
|
20
| |
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
| |
28
|
29
|
30
|
31
|
2022 was a busy year for Isanti SWCD. Click here to read all about our most recent Conservation programs and priorities. We would like to send out a special thank you to all our Federal, State, and Local partners who support our mission to preserve, protect and enhance water quality, soil, and other natural resources in Isanti County. We’re already planning great things for 2023 including targeted agricultural outreach, lakeshore restorations on Green Lake and Skogman Lake, and agriculture projects in the Lower St. Croix Watershed.
One of our conservation technicians got to speak with KBEK about their work. Todd Kulaf discussed the Isanti SWCD and his conservation project at Spectacle Lake. Thank you to KBEK for talking to us! If you missed it you can listen to it here.